1/15 Lucy AMPS Updates!

[Emily & Lucy]

Previous Thread

Hello! Third time's the charm, hopefully I've figure out this forum stuff!

I just wanted to make an update of everything that has happened since my last post, it's still a little chaotic and I'll soon get into the flow of things - let me know if the Lantus forums aren't really good for general updates and I can move next time!

On Jan 12th I took Lucy to the vet because she threw up 6 times and had 2 runny stools in a 12 hour period, we wanted to double check it was not caused by the diabetes because if it was - then we'd have to readjust our methods.

After that vet visit (no ketones, her blood work was okay but had a lot of white blood cells) we upped her insulin from 1.5u to 2u, and she went down from an average of 300-400... to 90 over night!

That was crazy to me, so I went back to 1.5u momentarily (I had to go to work!) and asked my roommates to check throughout the day. She stayed rather stable - but still had diarrhea (no vomit though).

She's been prescribed antibiotics to take and psyllium husk as an additive for her food! Though she struggled to eat her food once the psyllium was added, so after some experiments (having bowl without and one with) we realized she hates it haha.

I'm getting a lot better about the blood glucose - almost a routine now!! I still feel terrible when she doesn't bleed and I have to stab again - I've tried warming her ear up and such but she's not really... "juicy" if that makes sense? I'll do some research, she reasonably gets annoyed with me if I struggle with it haha.

Image attached is some Lucy Tax - when she gets fed she will sit on the kitchen stool and waits politely

 

[Mary & Jude]

Previous Thread

She's been prescribed antibiotics to take and psyllium husk as an additive for her food! Though she struggled to eat her food once the psyllium was added, so after some experiments (having bowl without and one with) we realized she hates it haha.

I'm getting a lot better about the blood glucose - almost a routine now!! I still feel terrible when she doesn't bleed and I have to stab again - I've tried warming her ear up and such but she's not really... "juicy" if that makes sense? I'll do some research, she reasonably gets annoyed with me if I struggle with it haha.

Image attached is some Lucy Tax - when she gets fed she will sit on the kitchen stool and waits politely

Are you giving her a probiotic while she's on the antibiotic. This is important as abs can cause tummy/digestive issues. You want something with s.boulardii in it, but also it needs to contain other beneficial strains of bacteria. This is what I give Jude when he's on an ab. It's very simple to sprinkle into his food, and he doesn't even notice it.

Also, related to the testing issue, it does take cats a while to "learn" to bleed, and until they do, some people find a lower gauge lancet more beneficial. These are the lancets we use; they are a bit more expensive than others, but well worth it for their sharpness. Other suggestions for testing: are you making sure the bevel is up on the lancet as you poke? I warm the ear but also massage the spot where I'm going to poke to stimulate blood flow.

She's such a beauty! I love a tortie!!

 

[Allie & Gen]

What a sweet, polite little girl! I love her little nose stripe; suck a pretty tortie coat in general.

I second Mary's probiotic recommendation (in fact, I started getting the same one based on said recommendation). My cat doesn't notice it, either.

What's the psyllium product you're using? I went for the very finely ground stuff; maybe texture makes a difference?

I'm sorry if I'm forgetting a detail from your previous post, but are you able to test after the PM shot at all? An overnight drop from 360 to 94 sounds very dramatic, but without any of the in-between data, it's hard to know what's going on. She's certainly had some really nice numbers the past few days!

Glad the blood testing is going better for you, even with some obstacles!

 

[Emily & Lucy]

Are you giving her a probiotic while she's on the antibiotic. This is important as abs can cause tummy/digestive issues. You want something with s.boulardii in it, but also it needs to contain other beneficial strains of bacteria. This is what I give Jude when he's on an ab. It's very simple to sprinkle into his food, and he doesn't even notice it.

Also, related to the testing issue, it does take cats a while to "learn" to bleed, and until they do, some people find a lower gauge lancet more beneficial. These are the lancets we use; they are a bit more expensive than others, but well worth it for their sharpness. Other suggestions for testing: are you making sure the bevel is up on the lancet as you poke? I warm the ear but also massage the spot where I'm going to poke to stimulate blood flow.

She's such a beauty! I love a tortie!!

The specific medications she was prescribed were
Tylosin Chicken Tab 50mg (10 tablets) [This is anti-diarrhea antibiotic]
Psyllium Husk Organic Powder 20 Gram (1/4 tsp with water) [This is a fiber supplement]

I give her the Tylosin with a Churu (just a little bit, she doesn't even seem to notice she ate a pill) and the Psyllium Husk is just a powder that gets mixed into a gel-like state, then added to food.

My vet said if she doesn't like the Psyllium Husk, then we'll focus on the antibiotic. Ideally a diabetic cat should eat haha.

 

[Emily & Lucy]

What a sweet, polite little girl! I love her little nose stripe; suck a pretty tortie coat in general.

I second Mary's probiotic recommendation (in fact, I started getting the same one based on said recommendation). My cat doesn't notice it, either.

What's the psyllium product you're using? I went for the very finely ground stuff; maybe texture makes a difference?

I'm sorry if I'm forgetting a detail from your previous post, but are you able to test after the PM shot at all? An overnight drop from 360 to 94 sounds very dramatic, but without any of the in-between data, it's hard to know what's going on. She's certainly had some really nice numbers the past few days!

Glad the blood testing is going better for you, even with some obstacles!

I usually don't do the other BG tests because I give her the Morning Insulin right before work, and the Night Insulin right when I get home from work (at 12am!!). I can definitely try and do some more tests, I just like sleeping when I have to work. Tomorrow is my day off, so I can afford to stay up later tonight :]

 

[Allie & Gen]

I usually don't do the other BG tests because I give her the Morning Insulin right before work, and the Night Insulin right when I get home from work (at 12am!!). I can definitely try and do some more tests, I just like sleeping when I have to work. Tomorrow is my day off, so I can afford to stay up later tonight :]

Sleep is extremely important! But unfortunately, it's going to be very hard to track her progress without at least a +2 or +3 most nights, and ideally you'd get more than that. (This is another thing that the Libre is very helpful for; I can get my cat's numbers in the morning from the data it collects all night while I sleep.) I know that some members set alarms to wake up for testing and then go back to sleep. It certainly sounds hard, but if you don't know what her nighttime cycles are like or what her nadirs are, you're missing half the information that would help you regulate her.

 

[Elaine and Ember]

The specific medications she was prescribed were
Tylosin Chicken Tab 50mg (10 tablets) [This is anti-diarrhea antibiotic]
Psyllium Husk Organic Powder 20 Gram (1/4 tsp with water) [This is a fiber supplement]

I give her the Tylosin with a Churu (just a little bit, she doesn't even seem to notice she ate a pill) and the Psyllium Husk is just a powder that gets mixed into a gel-like state, then added to food.

My vet said if she doesn't like the Psyllium Husk, then we'll focus on the antibiotic. Ideally a diabetic cat should eat haha.

My kitty Hoodoo takes 1/4 tps psyllium husk twice a day and what I do is dampen it with a tiny bit of water and get it thick enough (not quite gel, so add less water) to roll it into little balls and stick them to treats. I usually make about 8 or so little balls. If she starts spitting them out I know it's time to switch up the flavor of treats.

 

[Christie & Maverick]

Hi Emily- I am a bit late to your post and haven’t stopped by in the past. Good job getting the hang of testing. I would like to offer some thoughts, since I see that you are using a pet meter, and are following SLGS.

Regardless of dosing method that one follows, dose increases are best made when you can answer the question, “ how low is this dose taking my kitty?” With only preshot tests, it’s difficult to see her patterns and to determine where her nadir is and how low it is. Second, doing an increase by 0.5u is not generally recommended, although in some instances where nadirs are consistently high and when following TR it is done, but certainly not when following SLGS. Kitties often respond to small increases of 0.25u. You’ve had two increases by 0.5u each time, and not a lot of data. If it were my cat, I would go back down to 1.25u.

With SLGS you would want to reduce her dose if she falls under 90, and hold the dose for 7 days unless she falls under 90 again during that time, in which case you would reduce again. Going back up to 2u so quickly seems to have been problematic. Also with SLGS you would not want to shoot a number under 90. Numbers in the 50s on a pet meter are concerning, and would need intervention with high carb food or syrup, and additional testing 20-30 minutes afterward and possibly more intervention with HC and further testing to make sure her BG came up and stayed up. I am very worried to see that Lucy had a seizure sometime near or thereafter, and hope everything is ok . I would encourage you to post more often and check in on dosing help. Again, I really hope Lucy is ok.

 

[Emily & Lucy]

Hi Emily- I am a bit late to your post and haven’t stopped by in the past. Good job getting the hang of testing. I would like to offer some thoughts, since I see that you are using a pet meter, and are following SLGS.

Regardless of dosing method that one follows, dose increases are best made when you can answer the question, “ how low is this dose taking my kitty?” With only preshot tests, it’s difficult to see her patterns and to determine where her nadir is and how low it is. Second, doing an increase by 0.5u is not generally recommended, although in some instances where nadirs are consistently high and when following TR it is done, but certainly not when following SLGS. Kitties often respond to small increases of 0.25u. You’ve had two increases by 0.5u each time, and not a lot of data. If it were my cat, I would go back down to 1.25u.

With SLGS you would want to reduce her dose if she falls under 90, and hold the dose for 7 days unless she falls under 90 again during that time, in which case you would reduce again. Going back up to 2u so quickly seems to have been problematic. Also with SLGS you would not want to shoot a number under 90. Numbers in the 50s on a pet meter are concerning, and would need intervention with high carb food or syrup, and additional testing 20-30 minutes afterward and possibly more intervention with HC and further testing to make sure her BG came up and stayed up. I am very worried to see that Lucy had a seizure sometime near or thereafter, and hope everything is ok . I would encourage you to post more often and check in on dosing help. Again, I really hope Lucy is ok.

Thank you for the insight, my vet applauded my quick action to helping her through the seizure but it was really because of this group I was so prepared haha. Hope to never see that happen again - so I'm gonna do my best.

Currently my issue is I'm running low on Glucose Strips - I gotta order more in but it'll be a bit until I get a "healthy" amount of them. I see people weren't joking around with the AT3's pricing - but it's what works best with my vet so I am biased towards it (easier to talk to them about the numbers)

 

[Mary & Jude]

Thank you for the insight, my vet applauded my quick action to helping her through the seizure but it was really because of this group I was so prepared haha. Hope to never see that happen again - so I'm gonna do my best.

Currently my issue is I'm running low on Glucose Strips - I gotta order more in but it'll be a bit until I get a "healthy" amount of them. I see people weren't joking around with the AT3's pricing - but it's what works best with my vet so I am biased towards it (easier to talk to them about the numbers)

Emily, I'm seeing that you've noted that Lucy had a seizure yesterday at 9:30 a.m. How far was that from her shot (+1, +2, etc.)? And what was her bg at that time? I see that she dropped into the limes in your pm cycle on the 15th, but your note in the remarks about the seizure is on the 16th, so I'm a bit confused. How long did the seizure last, and has she ever experienced seizures before?

 

[Emily & Lucy]

Emily, I'm seeing that you've noted that Lucy had a seizure yesterday at 9:30 a.m. How far was that from her shot (+1, +2, etc.)? And what was her bg at that time? I see that she dropped into the limes in your pm cycle on the 15th, but your note in the remarks about the seizure is on the 16th, so I'm a bit confused. How long did the seizure last, and has she ever experienced seizures before?

I give Lucy her Insulin at 12pm (AMPS) and 12am (PMPS) due to my work schedule. She had her seizure around 9:30 in the morning, so the +9 on the Jan 15th is where it takes place, because it would have been around 9 in the morning on Jan 16th.

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to touch my spreadsheet to better reflect this, but I've been kinda going through the motions and haven't been able to ask about it.

Walking to work atm so apologies if I don't replu right away.

 

[Mary & Jude]

Okay, so she had the seizure when her bg was around 67? And we really don't know how low her bg went through that cycle. I know that must have been super scary for you!!

I want to re-emphasize Christie's note to you above. She is one of our most trust guides on the forum.

Finally, I do want to encourage you. Feline diabetes requires that we go through quite a learning curve, and it takes a lot out of the caregiver, especially at the beginning when we're trying to learn everything and especially for you because you're trying to balance this new illness with your busy lifestyle/work schedule. Most of us understand that challenge. But you're doing your best for Lucy, and we applaud your efforts (and I'm sure she would too if she understood what was happening to her).

When members on the board shoot their first number below a 100, they earn the coveted BOS award! Congratulations!!

I hope you have a good day at work!

 

[Emily & Lucy]

Okay, so she had the seizure when her bg was around 67? And we really don't know how low her bg went through that cycle. I know that must have been super scary for you!!

I want to re-emphasize Christie's note to you above. She is one of our most trust guides on the forum.

Finally, I do want to encourage you. Feline diabetes requires that we go through quite a learning curve, and it takes a lot out of the caregiver, especially at the beginning when we're trying to learn everything and especially for you because you're trying to balance this new illness with your busy lifestyle/work schedule. Most of us understand that challenge. But you're doing your best for Lucy, and we applaud your efforts (and I'm sure she would too if she understood what was happening to her).

When members on the board shoot their first number below a 100, they earn the coveted BOS award! Congratulations!!

I hope you have a good day at work!

View attachment 76530

omg an award!? I would like to thank Lucy for giving me daily stress heart attacks, without them I would probably live a lot longer